They all sat, quiet as mice, for an hour and a half of attentive listening, as Lucas and Arthur Jussen ventured forth on Stockhausen’s MANTRA

Lucas and Arthur Jussen shrug off the last remnants of their ‘cute brothers’ image with Stockhausen’s MANTRA

It’s great to see that the Proms are attracting an audience that’s younger and more varied than the established Concertgebouw clientele. They all sat, quiet as mice, for an hour and a half of attentive listening, as Lucas and Arthur Jussen ventured forth on Stockhausen’s MANTRA, a highly demanding work in every respect for two pianos, ring-modulation and small percussion instruments. The work is a musical ritual that – contrary to any implication of its title – does not contain any clearly oriental elements. There was just the merest suggestion of sniggering from the audience – responding to the musical “Yes! No!” interplay between the brothers and their shouted “Hoei!”
The Jussen brothers shrugged off the last remnants of their ‘cute brothers’ image with this concentrated, richly-coloured performance and proved that they can also let things rip, with equal musicality, in a structured, modernistic masterpiece.